Spirit Of The Tides

THE STORY

I was standing on the headland when I had a vision of Ruby standing on this rock below me.

I could already see the photograph before it existed — the composition, the light, the scale of the landscape around her. It was one of those moments where you instinctively know there’s something there.

Then I heard laughter behind my shoulder.

A school group was making their way up the headland on an excursion.

I looked down at Ruby, completely naked, and yelled out to her. She jumped from the rock and ran straight into the water. In that split second, I took the shot.

There was no production. No second take. Just instinct, timing and a little bit of chaos.

I love that the final photograph captures movement rather than stillness — Ruby disappearing into the water, the vastness of the landscape around her, and this completely spontaneous moment frozen in time.

Sometimes the photographs that stay with you aren’t the ones you meticulously plan. They’re the ones that happen when you’re present enough to recognise the moment in front of you.

This image has since become part of the visual identity of Native State, now living on their billboard in Kirra.

What started as a spontaneous moment on a spring afternoon has travelled much further than I ever imagined.

And that’s why I make prints.

Because photographs shouldn’t only live on a screen. They should hold a story, carry a memory and become something you can live with.

Finer Details